Running. Coffee. Reading the NY Times. Finishing a crossword puzzle. Finishing the NYT crossword (achieved today in 50 min…I’m improving). Sun. NPR. Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me! This American Life. A Prairie Home Companion. Beautiful photography. The amazing feeling when I am completely one with my flute. Cleaning. Laundry fresh and warm from the dryer. New snowfall. Newborn lambs. Watching a lamb struggle to stand and walk for the first time. Teaching a newborn bottle lamb to suck. The face of a dairy cow. Unpasteurized, fresh milk from the bulk tank. Freshly picked fruits and vegetables still warm from the summer sun. The chill in the air on early summer mornings as the sun is rising. My favorite ewe, “Dawn”. Leading a dairy cow who is hundreds of times stronger than I am but still goes where I want her to go. Sleeping on central campus and hearing the campanile in that void between sleep and wakefulness. Napping outside under the sun with a light breeze. Non-fiction books. The sheer strength of large livestock. Sleeping on the living room floor in the sun. My sweet girl, Ziggy.

The tiny-ness of me in this immense world.

Matt.
When he calls me “pretty lady” every time I answer his phone calls. His no-nonsense responses to my nonsensical complaints. His warm feet against my so very cold ones. Having long theoretical and intellectual conversations. The fact that we [creepily] have the same birthday, the same major, and for some reason keep ending up with the same lesson time. How he is the one who always calls me. Having conversations about kids or other things that could potentially be very awkward with a significant other. When he just holds me.

Zefir.
Playing in the snow with Zef. Zefir’s adorable snores. Waking up with Zef sleeping sprawled across me (until the pain sets in). Zefir’s fuzzy ears. Watching Zef get angry at the hair dryer. His complete obsession with water. Zef’s happy dances when he gets a new rawhide. His funny way of inviting me to play with his toys. His love of yogurt and yogurt containers. (I think he likes yogurt more than I do…and I LOVE yogurt). The way he sits so perfectly straight up in the passenger seat of the car. When he falls asleep on long car rides and lies in awkward positions so he can touch me. On long drives when we slow down through a town and he drowsily opens his eyes and looks to me to see if he should completely wake up–it’s the same thing I did when I was a young child.